Cutter bit holder



July 7, 1959 s. E. PROCTOR CUTTER BIT HOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet].

Filed June 27, 1957 INVENTOR ATTOR N EYS July 7, 1959 s. E. PROCTOR 2,393,714

CUTTER BIT-HOLDER Filed June 27, 1957 2 Sheets-sheaf 2 v nm w i AT-ronuays United States Patent "CUTTER BIT :HQLDER Sidney Ernest Proctor, Saunderton, High Wycomha'England, assignor to Austin Hoyfand Company Limited, High Wyconibe, .England, a British company ApplicationJune 27, $1957, Serial-No. 668,386

C'lziims'priority, application Gratdiritain June "27, E56

- Claims. :(Cl. 2452-63) "this operation. The purpose of this invention is {to re- 'duc'ethe Jtirn'e'take'n in changingjpicks.

It is a further object of Ithfe invention to provide "means'for'pi'cks 'on'a coai-cutterchain or equivalentpiek carrying device "to ibe gauged, ii.'e. set with their cutting "edges 'prope'cting from the pick "box by any'jdesired amount.

According tooneffea'ture'ofltheinvention a coal-cutter :hain or equivalent "pick-carrying device has picks provided with shanks rotatably mounted in the pick-carry 'ingboxes or'like mountings andwithmeansfoflocking them against 'rotationin one of atle'as'ttwo selected positions, for the purpose of enabling the .pick tofface in either direction (if movement.

According'to'another feature ofith'e invention the .picks have shanks which are s'crew threaded jirito "theim'ount- "ings and locking means are provided to lock the jpicks against rotation at s'everal 'diiferentpos'itions representing "different degrees "of'entry of shank into mounting. By

'thisnreans the-picks :canbegau'ged-a s to :the distance by whichthey standout from the'm'o'untings and also i'f'the locking means are appropriately designed the 'picks ca'n be reversed.

According to .a further .feature of the present invention, in a coal-cutter'cha'in or equivalent pick-carrying device having .picks withshanks rotatably mounted in the mountings,locking-means-to lockeach pick against rotation comprise .an abutment on the inner end of the pick shank within the mounting, a spring-urged {locking member within .thernountingto engage said abutment and means atfording access to said docking member .for uniocking it, =comprising an aperture thlbllgh which a tool maybeinserted.

The locking members maycarry -stems which extend upwardly through the centres of the pick shanks and the apertures be loca-ted -in the picksthemsel'ves *so that by inserting a tommy-bar into the side of a pick the locking member of that pick may be moved out of engagement with the said abutment and the pick rotated by moving the tommy-bar. This aifords a very rapid means of reversal of the picks.

In a preferred construction according to the present invention the locking members are prevented from rotation by operation in non-circular bores in the mountings, which bores are continuations of screw-threaded bores in which .pick shanks :are located, but the non-tcircularjportions of the bores do not extend into the screw-threaded portion. .-If the non-circular bores are-closed .at their inner ends, thisresults in aconstructionWhichissealed against'access of dirt and dust by :means :of the screwthreaded shanks of the cutter picks, and such sealing -is a valuable feature according to :the present invention.

The following is a description by way of example -.of certain constructions in accordance with the invention, reference being made to 'the accompanying drawings .in which:

Figure 1 :is a .section through a pick box in accordance with one rconstructionof the invention, showing -:the cut- .ter pick-.imside-elevation;

'Figurellis .a:front-e1evation of the -pick removed from thebox;

-Figure 3 is aperspective :view of the locking member iremoved from-the box;

.Figure 4 is a viewsimilarato Figure 1'of an alterna- .tive construction showing :the pick locked in position;

-FigureflS is a :section upon .the.line 5-:5-of Eigure-4 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure .6 is -a view of the .same construction similar toFigure 4, but showing the ;parts .in the unlocked ;posi tion;

.Figure 7 is a s'imilarviewto Figures 4 and .6, showing lthe,parts with :the pick .adjusted outwardly;

Figure 8 is a plan of the :pick .box with ithe .pick .and ,adjustment members removed, so as -to .show the-cross- .sectionofthe locking recess; .and 1 'Figure 9 is an underside plan .view of :alocking spring for use in the construction shown in Figures -4 .to 8.

A coal-cutter .chain with which .the .present invention is 'to be employed may have links of any desired or .usual pattern which carry ;pick boxes. In thedrawings [the links are not shown lhutnonly the ,pick boxes .upon them, whichvmay of cour-sehe integral -with.the.1inks.-in

the links to .re-

ceive the shanks: oflcu'tter ,p'ic'ks. The section, (Figure :1,

j' is takenjin the planerof thescentre.ofthepickand.it will be understood that this plane may be at any desired angle relatively to .the central .plane 10f .the .coalecutter 'c'hain. I

Referring to Figure 51, the pick her: .11 which confstitutes the mounting for the pick is .drilled out with a 'squarebottomed hole '12 which is screw-threaded -.as indicated at 13 to receivesthe shank 14 of a cutter .pick 15 having aninser'tedtip 16 of hard.metal. .Ihescrewthreaded shank 1'4 is cross-.s'lotte'das shown .at 17 .atits ilower'end andfisv'drille'd up axially with a-hole '18 which extends :from the slot 717 into the portion ..of .the ,pick which projects out of the Lpick .box and .whichmeets a transverse aperture T19 drilled through .the pick :from side *tojside. 'In'the?hole 18 of .the ;p'ic'k-there can :slide ffreely the sharik20 :of allockingmember which .is shown in detail infFigure '3. fThelocking'memberat .its .lower end "has asquarepor'tion 21 of the shank .and:between the square portion "21 and the round portion '20 there is a circular collar 22 which carries \a locking rib 23 adaptedto enter'the cross-slot17 in the underside ofihe ipick shank. .A spring 24 surrounds the ,squareshank :21 "in"the"b'ottom o'f'the 'drilledholel2 and urges the collar 22 upwards. The square shank 21 slides in a square hole 25 in the bottom of the pick box. The upper end of the round shank 20 is rounded and is long enough to project upwardly into the cross-aperture 19 as shown at 26. If a tapered tommy-bar is inserted into the aperture 19 it will depress the end 25 of the shank 20 and carry the locking rib 23 out of the slot 17 in the shank of the pick. The pick can then be rotated either to reverse it or to adjust its gauge, and whether it is left facing forward or aft on the chain when the tommybar is removed, the spring 24 will press the collar 22 upwards and the locking rib 23 will re-engage the slot 17 and prevent further movement of the pick.

This construction is simple and prevents entry of dust from the outside of the pick box because the hole 12 is sealed by the screw-thread 14. However, in some positions of the box 11 on the chain link there is a possibility of dust entering the hole 12 through the space allowed for the sliding movement between the square shank 21 and the aperture 25 in which it works. In order to obviate this possibility the construction shown in Figures 4 to 8 has been devised, In this construction the pick-box 11 is provided with a screw-threaded aperture 30 to receive a screw shank 14 of a cutter pick 15 similar to that already described for Figures 1 to 3. The

screw-threaded aperture 30 of the pick 11 however, in

stead of extending nearly to the lowermost limit of the pick box, extends only part of the way therethrough and then has a shoulder 31 and is continued as a smaller aperture 32 having lateral key-shaped enlargements 33,

34 (see Figures 4 and 8). In the centrol hole 18 of the pick there slides the shank 35 of a locking member which has a transverse keying portion 36 to enter the locking slot 17 of the pick. The keying portion 36 of the locking member 35 has at its ends longitudinally projecting locking members 37 which enter the slots 33, 34 and are capable of sliding therein. Within the locking members 37 the shank 35 carries a spigot 38 which enters the upper end of a conical spring 39. The base of the spring 39 rests on a plate 40 which is welded to the underside of the pick box 11 and closes the lower end of the aperture 32. The upper end or nose 26 of the shank 35 enters the transverse aperture 19 in the pick, as already described. The nose 26 may be of smaller diameter than the main part of the shank 35 and joined thereto by a conical seating 41 which helps to keep out dust. As already explained, if a tornmy-bar is inserted into the aperture 19 the nose 26 is depressed and it pushes the locking member 36 out of the slot 17 in the bottom of the pick and frees the pick for rotation. When the tommy-bar is removed, if the pick is facing directly fore or aft along the chain the locking member 36 is free to enter again the slot 17 in the pick under the influence of the spring 39 and to lock the pick against rotation.

The cage can be adjusted when the tommy-bar is inserted by unscrewing or screwing up the pick for one or more whole turns as shown in Figure 7, and on withdrawal of the tommy-bar 42 the locking element 36 will still lock the pick in a fore or aft direction. The tommybar 42 is shown in position in Figure 6.

The spring 39 shown in Figures 4 to 7 may be a plain conical spring or it may have its lower and larger turns flattened to fit into the key-shaped aperture 32, 33, 34, somewhat as shown at 52 Figure 12, if desired.

The construction described makes an extremely quick method of reversal of cutter picks; it is also a very safe method of locking because centrifugal force on the picks tends to hold the locking member in its locking position; the locking means is also protected from dust and dirt so that it is not likely to get out of order.

I claim:

1. In a coal cutter, the combination of a pick-box having a screw-threaded pick-supporting aperture therein, a

' pick having a cutter portion and a screw-threaded shank adjustable by rotation in said aperture, a spring and a locking member in the aperture below the shank having a stem extending through the shank into the cutter portion, said spring normally biasing said locking member into engagement with said shank, the cutter portion having a transverse hole intersecting the axis of the stem so that on insertion of a bar the shank is unlocked, becomes rotatable by said bar into adjusted position and relocks on removal of the bar.

2. In a coal cutter, the combination of a pick-box having a screw-threaded pick-supporting aperture therein, a hole in the pick-box forming an extension of the screwthreaded aperture and having a non-circular portion, a pick with a cutter portion and a screw-threaded shank fitting in said screw-threaded aperture shaped to afford a locking abutment on the end of the shank, a locking member slidable in the non-circular portion of said hole and having a locking abutment adapted to co-operate with said locking abutment on the shank of the pick, a spring in said hole to urge the locking member towards the shank, and an unlocking extension on the locking member slidable through a hole in the pick-shank which extends into the cutter portion thereof, as far as a transverse hole through the cutter portion, to permit unlocking of the cutter pick, the locking abutments being symmetrical about the axis of the screw-thread to permit the pick to be locked in at least two positions and to engage the shank of the pick for more than one revolution thereof.

3. A pick-box assembly for a coal cutter as claimed in claim 2 wherein the non-circular portion of the said hole in the pick-box consists of a non-circular aperture at the bottom of said hole, of smaller cross-sectional area than the hole and the locking member has a non-circular stem slidable in said non-circular aperture, a collar upon the stem which carries the abutment to engage the locking abutment on the end of the shank of the pick and the unlocking extension on the locking member is a circular extension coaxial with the said shank and fitting therein.

4. A pick-box assembly for a coal-cutter as claimed in claim 2 wherein the non-circular portion of the hole in the pick-box comprises the main part of the length of said hole and is large enough to house the body of the locking member, the body of said locking member is made non-circular to fit said hole and is hollow, the spring extends into the hollow in the locking member and the 'bottom of the hole is completely closed.

5. A pick-box assembly, as claimed in claim 4, wherein the spring has a non-circular base to fit the hole in the pick-box and is tapered to enter the hollow in the locking member.

References Cited in the file of this patent 

